A jury verdict in favor of former employees of an oil well construction company claiming they were denied overtime has been thrown out by a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the jury’s verdict and ruled in favor of defendant Crest Pumping Technologies. The court held that the federal magistrate judge overseeing the case improperly placed the burden of proof on the applicability of the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act on Crest.